Opening of ‘Oryu 1-dong Youth Complex Facility’ in Guro-gu

[Seoul District News] Guro-gu, Youth Support Center 'Kkumdeulim' Relocates on 6th, Youth-Only Space 'Youth Agit' Created ... Seocho-gu Hosts Young Artists Exhibition 'Welcome Generation' ... Dobong-gu Holds Music Festival 'OPCD WEEK' by Young Artists on 15-16

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Guro-gu is unveiling a healing space for teenagers.

Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) announced that it will hold the opening ceremony of the ‘Oryu 1-dong Youth Complex Facility’ at 3 p.m. on the 6th and begin full-scale operation.

The Youth Complex Facility located at 18 Gocheok-ro 1-gil, Guro-gu (Oryu 1-dong 6-327) is a building with one basement floor and two above-ground floors. The youth support center ‘Kkumdeulim,’ which was previously on the second floor of the Cheonwang-dong Youth Culture House, has relocated here, and a new youth-only space called ‘Youth Ajit’ has been added.

The basement floor houses the Youth Ajit, a resting area (book caf?), and storage. The first floor includes the youth support center office, counseling rooms, study rooms, and lockers. The second floor will be used as a multipurpose room, open-style individual reading rooms, and a cooking room.

In particular, the Youth Ajit consists of a dance practice room, movie viewing room, and arcade, providing teenagers with a space where they can freely and comfortably enjoy leisure and cultural activities as well as fully express their talents and creativity.

In addition to the newly opened Oryu 1-dong Youth Complex Facility, the district operates a total of four Youth Ajits, including Gung-dong Youth Culture House, Cheonwang-dong Youth Culture House, and the Guro Municipal Youth Center. Another youth complex facility is being constructed in Guro 5-dong.

A Guro-gu official said, “We hope that the youth of Oryu 1-dong will nurture bigger dreams here and create good memories with their friends. We will actively reflect the opinions of the main users, the youth, in facility operations and continue to create an environment where young people can grow up healthily.”

# “I have been continuously engaged in experimental and challenging artistic activities, so I am excited that my works will be exhibited at the dream gallery, Hangaram Art Museum at the Seoul Arts Center.” - Kim Saetbyeol, young artist of Aha Collective Team

A dream gallery exhibition opportunity opens for young artists leading the future of culture and arts.

Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced that it will hold the special exhibition ‘Welcome Generation’ at the Hangaram Design Museum of the Seoul Arts Center from the 14th to the 30th for 15 days.

This special exhibition is a collaboration between the ‘Seoripul Youth Art Gallery,’ a youth art gallery operated by the district, and the Seoul Arts Center, the largest performance and exhibition space in Korea.

The district prepared this exhibition to support the diverse creative activities of young artists, encourage their dreams and passion, and provide them with opportunities to showcase their works at a renowned art museum, thereby laying a foundation for various artistic activities.

Accordingly, the exhibition will feature about 40 works by 20 artists from 9 teams selected by the district among young artists who have exhibited at the Seoripul Youth Art Gallery over the past four years.

The theme of this exhibition, ‘Welcome,’ symbolizes a warm reception overcoming the sense of loss caused by COVID-19 and supports young artists who will lead the future art world. The subtitle ‘Era of Pul’ is divided into three sections: ▲‘Seoripul,’ meaning auspicious and promising good things ▲‘Powerful,’ referring to electric art and visual effects ▲‘Beautiful,’ representing the ultimate beauty that art aims for. The exhibition is free to the public.

Representative works by young artists include ▲Kwon Hyuk-gyu’s Virtual Sound Project ▲Kim So-jang Laboratory’s Plant Pain ▲Seo Sang-hee’s Meta_Garden Virtual Garden (21-ver) ▲Studio1750’s Sparkling Memories (photo) ▲Shin Sung-chul & Lee Dong-hwa’s Underground Fireworks ▲Aha Collective’s Dialing ▲Lee Ji-hoon’s Paralysis ▲Jung Cheol-gyu’s Brother Tailor Shop_4th Branch ▲Homecoming’s Project Homecoming, showcasing works reflecting the era from new perspectives.

Young artist Yoo Do-heon, participating in this special exhibition, said, “The past three years have been difficult for many young artists due to COVID-19, but thanks to this special exhibition prepared by Seocho-gu, I am happy to participate and communicate with visitors.”

Along with the exhibition, the district will offer various programs and performances. Starting with the opening ceremony at 3 p.m. on the 14th, docent tours explaining the artworks, exploring the artists’ mind maps, and electronic improvisation performances will be held every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday until the 30th.

Additionally, from the 12th to the 16th, the ‘Seoripul Youth Local Art Market’ will be held at the outdoor plaza of Shinsegae Art Square near the Seoul Arts Center. This market provides young artists residing or active in Seocho-gu with a venue to meet residents, sell their artworks, and discover local collectors. Thirty young artist teams will participate, offering various attractions such as ‘Docent Tours’ explaining key works by each artist, a ‘Mini Auction’ for art pieces, and a ‘Network Showcase’ for art-related professionals.

The district expects this exhibition to have a twofold effect: providing exhibition opportunities for young artists and offering residents a place to enjoy youthful energy.

Opened in 2018, the ‘Seoripul Youth Art Gallery’ is an exhibition space remodeled from the underground passage of the Seoul Arts Center, which had been neglected for 20 years. It introduces young artists’ works annually and supports their creative activities. So far, it has supported 285 young artists through 43 exhibitions.

Seocho-gu Mayor Jeon Seong-su said, “We will continue to actively support young artists’ creative activities and strive to make Seocho-gu a stepping stone for their dreams.”

Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok) will hold the comprehensive music festival ‘OPCD WEEK’ around Exit 1 of Chang-dong Station from the 15th to the 16th.

‘OPCD WEEK,’ held for the first time this year, is a ‘Dobong-gu specialized music event’ planned by young musicians belonging to Open Chang-dong (OPCD), a platform established through the Seoul New Deal Job Project and Dobong-gu’s cultural and artistic youth job platform, based on their musical experiments since 2019.

This OPCD WEEK aims to ▲establish a foundation for the local music ecosystem ▲provide performance opportunities for young artists and promote exchanges between professional and emerging artists ▲create a participatory festival enjoyed by local residents, artists, and industry stakeholders.

The festival includes ▲seminars related to the music industry ▲performances by 12 famous professional artists ▲performances by 24 emerging young artists ▲DJing stages ▲record fairs featuring 12 record shops ▲and visible radio broadcasts.

The ‘Emerging Young Artist Performances’ held on the temporary stage at the OPCD Studio in front of Exit 1 of Chang-dong Station, the ‘DJing Stage’ and ‘Visible Radio’ held in the underpass cultural space, and the ‘Record Fair’ held at Chang-dong Station Plaza are open to the public for listening to music and purchasing LPs.

Performances by professional artists at the Red Box performance hall require paid tickets. On the 15th, performers include ▲Flow Excel ▲Im Ray ▲Y2K92 ▲Silica Gel ▲Deja Vu Group ▲Eightball Town, and on the 16th, ▲Coda ▲Pierre Blanche ▲Tabber ▲Miso ▲Minsu ▲Gongjung Geune will take the stage.

Paid tickets cost 10,000 KRW for one day and 18,000 KRW for two days. Tickets can be reserved on Interpark starting at noon on the 11th, with a 50% discount for Dobong-gu residents. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Community Chest of Korea at the end of the year.

Dobong-gu Mayor Oh Eon-seok said, “Dobong-gu is now at the starting point of becoming the northeastern hub, based on large-scale construction projects including the Seoul Arena. The music industry is a key part of this, and OPCD WEEK, planned and promoted by young musicians, is very meaningful. I hope many local residents and industry stakeholders will take interest and participate.”

As a core project to establish ‘Chang-dong as the northeastern hub,’ Dobong-gu plans to build the ‘Seoul Arena Complex Cultural Facility’ (with a capacity of 20,000 seats), a specialized popular music performance hall. The district expects the Seoul Arena to greatly contribute to the development of the music and performance industry and the revitalization of the local economy.